2020 NFL offseason thread

[caketastydelish]

We already have two corners who arguably at the elite/shutdown level.

As a safety, Diggs has been incredible. The weakest link is McDougald who has still been very respectable and solid.

Justin Coleman was garbage for the Patriots, then played amazing for the Hawks, then Detroit paid big money for him and he went back to being garbage.

Quandre Diggs is putting up much better numbers in Seattle than Detroit. I’m sure I’m missing other examples that I could normally name off the top of my head. The truth is Pete Carroll is almost certainly not spending a first rounder on a DB unless an Earl Thomas like talent falls into his lap.

PC is better at developing DBs and getting the most out of them compared to any other head coach in the league, is my point.

 

[caketastydelish]

You’re overthinking this. The team is already stacked with talent ant DB and linebackers, adding more to it is a luxury pick, especially we are talking about spending a first rounder on one, when Carroll has done a great out making legit starting DBs drafted well after the first round before. That is one thing he has consistently done even after the original LOB era.

Meanwhie, our pass rush is amongst the worst in the entire league, and that was even while we had Clowney which might not come back. Only the Dolphins had less sacks than us IIRC.

Edit: also, as of right now, the Rams are a joke. At least on paper. They weren’t that great last year, they lost a lot of talent this offseason on both sides of the ball, and they don’t have a first round pick for the next two years.

I agree that the Cardinals are much more legit threat to actually beat us in games.

 

[caketastydelish]

I hate reading crap like this. Bill O'Brian might be dumb enough to agree to a trade like that, but no one else. And certainly not John Elway. Blind, pure homerism/wishful thinking, trying to get people's hopes up for nothing.

 

[caketastydelish]

If this is coming from Seattle, I’d imagine it would cost at a bare minimum one of our first round picks. I wouldn’t even be opposed necessarily, but this is (from a Seahawks fans perspective) feel-good baloney.

 

[caketastydelish]

I’m tired of reading articles implying there is any “controversy” at the QB position in Vegas. Carr is miles better than Mariota.

Carr is incredibly accurate, and gets rid of the ball very quickly. Frankly I think he’s underrated and the only reason why I keep seeing these stupid mock drafts having the Raiders spending a first rounder on a QB is because Carr himself was drafted in the second round, so they aren’t impressed with his “pedigree”. He’s comfortably better than plenty of QBs drafted in the first round. If Chicago had Carr for example, I doubt they’d consider their QB to be problematic. Not a Raiders fan or anything but I can’t wrap my head around why so many people think he’s a bad starting QB who needs to be replaced.

edit: for reference PFF had Carr rated significantly higher as a QB than Jared Goff (and he’s also playing on a much cheaper contract, at that) and no one is saying the Rams need to move on from Goff.

 

[caketastydelish]

I just feel sorry for the poor guy for being what is in my opinion by far the most under appreciated QB in the league. I hope ordinary people/fans don’t agree with the idiots writing these articles. If I were Carr in that situation it would piss me the fudge off.

 

[Serutan]

The only solution to being tired of reading them is to stop reading them. Idiots will certainly keep writing them.

Amen to that.

I'm sure he looks at his older brother as an example of how much worse it could be and just shrugs it off.

It's amazing when you have an example of something like that in front of your own eyes that you understand "It could be worse" much more clearly.

 

[caketastydelish]

I wasn’t watching football when his older brother played, so I wouldn’t know.

 

[IglooDame]

Just read an interesting theory that Tom Brady isn't concerned about winning in Tampa Bay, he's there because if Jameis Winston can sling a 5000 yard season maybe an old man like Brady can too, and that would be good for shilling his TB12 longevity merchandise.

It's a fair point, but... how many millions does he have in the bank already? Not counting Gisele, who is not exactly struggling for money either?

Personally (and unfortunately getting immersed in Brady/Pats news as a local over the years), I think Brady just wants to keep having fun playing football, and the Patriot Way isn't fun, and seems to get a lot less fun when the team isn't steamrolling the AFC.

 

[caketastydelish]

Brandon Cooks and a 2021 fourth rounder to the Texans in exchange doe the 57th pick of this draft.

I actually like this. The Texans have no one individual wide receiver who is “elite” like Hopkins but they have several who are solid, above average starter quality. Honestly, I think it’s almost better that way. The problem with putting all your eggs in one basket with one player is he gets hurt or can’t play because of off the field issues, your team is destroyed.

Considering all the additions the Texans have made at wide receiver this offseason (and we haven’t even reached the draft yet) I would they are at least as good as they were before the Hopkins trade. On paper, the Texans offense very solid and deep.

If David Johnson plays to his potential, they will be borderline unstoppable. Meanwhile the Rams are continuing to prove that they are absolutely collapsing.

edit: and as for the “but they’re eating a lot more cap space now” argument:

I am almost certain that BOB will pick up the fifth year option on Watson’s rookie contract. It will be way less than his market value, and especially since he was drafted after 10th overall (Mahomes option will cost a lot more but still be cheaper than market value).

With that being said, by the time Watson’s rookie is over (supposing they use the fifth year option, and I’m almost certain they will) by the time it’s over David Johnson’s contract will have expired. And the cap will have risen by then as well. If BOB is planning in the way I think he is, which is “keep your franchise QB healthy and on the team for as long as possible” then he’s actually not doing a terrible job. The Colts managed to mess that up with Andrew Luck, and the Redskins did with Kirk Cousins.

It’s also worth noting that unlike Goof for the LA Lambs Watson actually DESERVES to be paid top tier, elite QB money. Making it a number one priority to have Watson (an easily top 10 QB) healthy and available for as long possible for his career (while he’s playing at this level, anyway) seems like a smart plan.

There’s not a Deshaun Watson in every draft, and even when there is, you probably be lucky enough to select him.

In the short run, the Texans offense is stacked and deep, in the long run they’ll be able to keep their current team assembled without having to just release players and absorbing dead money.

 

[Light Cleric]

lol what the actual hell are the Texans doing

Ship probably the best WR in the game out of town for peanuts, trade a 2nd rounder in a WR-heavy draft to replace him with a guy with an awful contract who is now on his 4th team in 7 seasons (there's a reason for that) and, by the way, has five concussions. This completely torpedoes the idea of trading Hopkins to make cap space for Watson.

You can say "Cooks has no guaranteed money after this year"; great, that means they traded a 2nd-rounder in a WR-rich draft for a WR they cut after 1 year and don't have Hopkins or Cooks.

David Johnson is a 28 year old RB who couldn't get on the field when healthy in Arizona and hasn't rushed for 1,000 yards since the Obama administration.

We can agree to disagree about his coaching but he should be fired into the sun for his job as GM. Saints need to call him and offer Latavius Murray and a 5th rounder for Watson before Belichick steals him.

 

[IglooDame]

Do you think someone who has been immersed in the cheatriot way for twenty years can start a business and say "doesn't really matter, I have enough money anyway?" I'll bet he would ruthlessly gut a distributor for a nickle.

The cheatriot way was(/is) more about winning at all costs than saving money, they had the checkbook of "Mr Kraft" after all. And notably, Brady took regular pay cuts (against what he was worth to the team) for years in order to afford other players that did help them win more. He started a business, sure, really it's more of a branding exercise than anything else. How much actual "blood sweat and tears" has he put into it? Players start businesses or charities as little more than hobbies or pro forma "star athlete" obligations. Brady can (and I'm presuming, does) pay people to do everything except occasionally show up for board meetings and photo ops.

 

[caketastydelish]

lol what the actual hell are the Texans doing

Ship probably the best WR in the game out of town for peanuts, trade a 2nd rounder in a WR-heavy draft to replace him with a guy with an awful contract who is now on his 4th team in 7 seasons (there's a reason for that) and, by the way, has five concussions. This completely torpedoes the idea of trading Hopkins to make cap space for Watson.

You can say "Cooks has no guaranteed money after this year"; great, that means they traded a 2nd-rounder in a WR-rich draft for a WR they cut after 1 year and don't have Hopkins or Cooks.

David Johnson is a 28 year old RB who couldn't get on the field when healthy in Arizona and hasn't rushed for 1,000 yards since the Obama administration.

We can agree to disagree about his coaching but he should be fired into the sun for his job as GM. Saints need to call him and offer Latavius Murray and a 5th rounder for Watson before Belichick steals him.

Brandon Cooks has been a legit WR. In 2018 with the Rams, he was amazing.

Otherwise, though, this comes down to one thing: When they actually start playing this season (when they play at all), only one of us can be right. Cooks and Johnson play to their potential (and stay healthy), and the Texans offense is better than it's ever been during the Watson era, then BOB will have redeemed himself. Only one of us can be right, all we can do is wait.

One thing I'll remarkable about Johnson, though, is he's a dual threat RB who is as dangerous (if not more) in the air than on the ground. There aren't many who can say the same, and they makes it a lot harder for defenses to prepare for him when he's on the field.

 

[rah]

Yeah, Johnston is a fantasy managers nightmare. After a few years ago being the #1 pick, he tantalizes you as he falls farther and farther into the draft that you think you just have to pick him only to be disappointed midway into the season.
Most of us claim he is dead to me. But will pick him if he's available in round 3

 

[Light Cleric]

Brandon Cooks has been a legit WR. In 2018 with the Rams, he was amazing.

Otherwise, though, this comes down to one thing: When they actually start playing this season (when they play at all), only one of us can be right. Cooks and Johnson play to their potential (and stay healthy), and the Texans offense is better than it's ever been during the Watson era, then BOB will have redeemed himself. Only one of us can be right, all we can do is wait.

One thing I'll remarkable about Johnson, though, is he's a dual threat RB who is as dangerous (if not more) in the air than on the ground. There aren't many who can say the same, and they makes it a lot harder for defenses to prepare for him when he's on the field.

He was solid in 2018 but wasn't even the leading receiver on his team even with Cooper Kupp out. That was also 3 concussions ago; concussions that have caused him to miss games. You also have to ask yourself why Sean Payton, Bill Belichick, and Sean Mcvay all decided to ship him out of town. In Payton's case, we know why; Cooks was being a pain in the ass because Michael Thomas was getting the ball more and becoming the true WR1.

Maybe Johnson pulls an AP and goes off, but AP is a freak of nature in more ways than one. Everything I've read from Cardinals fans is DJ looks like burnt toast and hasn't been explosive since the knee injury in '16. He's also 28 with other injury problems. RBs fall off a cliff harder than any other position. It's true that none of us know what will happen, but man does it look bad.

 

[caketastydelish]

Panthers sign McCaffery to record-setting mega-contract.

I understand that's generally not a good idea for running backs, but McCaffery is an exception. He is their offense. Especially with Cam Newton out of the picture. He's also unconventional as far as running backs go.

 

[caketastydelish]

Yeah but McCaffery is used in more unconventional ways than a normal running back. He gains yards through the air almost just as much as running, and when he runs, he generally runs around the defense in trick routes than going to straight into the teeth of the defensive line.

Also, the Rams didn't just pay Gurley too much. They paid LOTS of players too much, then put themselves in a situation where they couldn't keep all of them. As long as the Panthers don't go overboard with this and end up in salary cap hell, they won't have the same problem.

I don't think that Goff "is a bum", he just doesn't deserve to be paid elite QB money, he is nowhere near the best in the league. He is an acceptable starting quarterback, perfectly fine of being a long term solution, but he doesn't deserve to be paid a similar amount that Russell Wilson does. One of them is elite, top 5 and the other is mediocre (but acceptable).

edit: also worth mentioning that Goff and Bridgewater have almost identical passing stats at PFF, but his Bridgewaters running is way higher. They overall got a better quarterback, and paid far less for it.

But to reiterate, McCaffery is an unconventional back. He almost never goes straight into the teeth of the defense, so he's not going to run out of gas as quickly as most backs do.

 

[Serutan]

The problem with signing RBs to big contracts is that they get the starch knocked out of them before the term is up...especially if they have to carry the whole offense.

And in this case since it's two years before the term starts, you could really have a problem.

As to the Rams, they were between a rock and a hard place since they did have a window, and as you say they can't be blamed for trying to squeeze through it. But there's also the small matter of the new stadium featuring the 3.2 GIGAbuck overrun and having (apparently) crapped out on the field before even moving in.

 

[caketastydelish]

He still faces the fact that nearly every touch for a running back equals a hit, and carrying the offense means a lot of touches. We'll see if he holds up better than Gurley did. Gurley's style may have led to more punishing hits, but he was also better built to take the punishment so that may balance out.

As to Goff v Bridgewater, that's apples and oranges. It remains to be seen, at this point, whether Bridgewater can even play a whole season, so no one was going to pay going rate franchise quarterback money to find that out.

The Rams went "all in" pursuing a championship. They busted. That doesn't mean they should be faulted for trying.

I don't think Gurley was "better built to take the punishment". 24 years old and already past his best days. That's awful, even for a running back.

Other than that I tend to agree. If Bridgewater can stay healthy (personally I think he can for the most part) the Panthers got a total steal, though.

 

[caketastydelish]

Bucs ship out OJ Howard on the trading block. Should be interesting to see what compensation they can get for a former first round pick, that they have underutilized.